


Habitué - Secret Santa

by cutsycat



Series: Dictionary.Com Word of the Day Drabbles [1536]
Category: NCIS
Genre: Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-01-24
Updated: 2020-01-24
Packaged: 2021-02-27 08:34:02
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,711
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22384150
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/cutsycat/pseuds/cutsycat
Summary: It's approaching the first Christmas after Jackson died and Tony is struggling. Of course, when Tony starts getting random gifts he is very confused and distracted from his grief, but who is sending them and why?
Series: Dictionary.Com Word of the Day Drabbles [1536]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/444514
Comments: 2
Kudos: 35
Collections: 2020 Twelve Days of Christmas, The Writer's Guild Community





	Habitué - Secret Santa

**Author's Note:**

> Another dictionary.com word of the day drabble. This time from 07/15/2003 for the word [habitué](http://www.dictionary.com/wordoftheday/2003/07/15/habitue).
> 
> habitué[ huh-bich-oo-ey, -bich-oo-ey; French a-bee-twey ]  
> noun, plural ha·bit·u·és [huh-bich-oo-eyz, -bich-oo-eyz; French a-bee-twey] .  
> a frequent or habitual visitor to a place:  
> a habitué of art galleries.
> 
> This is for Day 11 of the Twelve Days of Christmas challenge. Today's prompt is Angel in Disguise/Secret Santa.

Tony stared into the mirror, but he didn’t recognize the man looking back at him. He had on a grin that didn’t meet his eyes. The green eyes glowed with a menace that Tony could feel trying to consume him. 

Christmas was a couple weeks away and if you believed the hype he was supposed to be happy. Christmas was the season of giving. A time to think of others and not just yourself and he was. 

He remembered a man more of a father to him than his own father. A man no longer of this world and he just couldn’t figure out how the world made sense anymore. Yeah, Jackson was getting older, but he still had many years ahead of him and now he was gone. 

He passed away many months ago, but this was the first major holiday without him. He wasn’t even his father or father-in-law, but Jackson had touched his soul in a way no one else had. They weren’t related by blood, but it never mattered to Jackson. To Jackson, Tony was simply son.

It would have made so much more sense if he had gotten cancer or something else where the death was expected. Instead, he was there one day and gone the next. They were supposed to be doing a Secret Santa kind of thing at work, but Tony wasn’t really feeling it. 

Abby, McGee, and Bishop were all excited, but Tony just missed Jackson. Not that he’d tell anyone that. Jackson wasn’t even his actual father. If anyone found out they’d just think he was weird for being so attached to his boss’ father.

He glanced at his watch and frowned as he realized he should have left for work twenty minutes ago. With a sigh, Tony finished getting dressed and tried to leave his maudlin thoughts behind. He blinked when a knock on his door sounded. Who would be here at this time of day when he should be at work?

He opened the door to a flower delivery guy. Tony frowned. “I didn’t order any flowers.”

“You’re Anthony DiNozzo, right? Sign here.”

“Yes, but I didn’t order these.”

“Not my department. They tell me to deliver here. I deliver here.” The guy handed Tony the box of flowers and left.

Tony stared after him for a bit before realizing this detour had made him even more late for work. With a curse, he grabbed the box and ran down the stairs to his car. Gibbs was going to kill him and Tony didn’t think that he’d be lenient because someone sent Tony flowers.

“You’re late,” Gibbs growled.

“Sorry, boss.” Tony set the flower box down on his desk as he put his stuff away.

“What do you have there, Tony? Bishop asked curiously, causing McGee to look up and spot the flower box himself.

“Flowers?” McGee asked as he moved to stand in front of Tony’s desk and take a closer look. “Who are they from?”

“No idea.”

“Better be careful opening them. You never know what might be inside. Remember the plague?”

“Oh trust me, Tim. I’m not going to forget that, but it was a legit flower delivery man. I doubt there’s a bomb inside.”

“Still better safe than sorry, DiNozzo. Take ‘em to Abby,” Gibbs ordered.

Tony sighed. “On it, boss.”

He grabbed the flowers and trooped down to Abby’s lab. Both Bishop and McGee followed him, curious about who would send him flowers. 

”What have you got for me?” Abby bounced excitedly.

Tony held up the box. “Flowers.”

“Ooh, flowers? You seeing someone, Tony.”

“No,” Tony shook his head.

“Then who sent you flowers?” Abby narrowed her eyes.

“That’s the one million dollar question, Abby. Gibbs wants you to open them securely in case it’s from someone not so nice.”

“Got it!” Abby took the box of flowers and setup the biohazard containment around it. She then pulled out the unwieldy radiation gloves that would allow her to do stuff inside the containment area without exposing herself or anyone else to any dangerous substances.

Abby slowly opened the flower box. With the gloves, she really couldn’t do anything else. Plus, it wasn’t easy to maneuver them the way she needed to open the box, but she finally managed it.

“Carnations?” McGee frowned. “Who would send you carnations?”

“There’s a note,” Bishop pointed out.

“What does it say?” Tony peered in the secure box, trying to read it.

“I know flowers aren’t a normal gift for a man, but that’s ok because I’m not trying to woo you,” Abby read.

“What?” Tony, Bishop, and McGee blinked in shock.

“There’s more,” Abby murmured before reading the rest, “I made a promise to a friend to remind you of happier times.”

“So who sent it, Abby?”

“It’s signed only, J.”

“J?” McGee looked perplexed. “Who could that be?”

“I have no idea, but there’s nothing dangerous, right Abs? Can I have my flowers and the note now?”

“Oh, right.” Abby dismantled the secure container and handed Tony his flowers and the note.

Tony shook his head and headed back upstairs. He didn’t know what to think about this J, especially since they specifically said they weren’t trying to woo him. There were only a few people he could think of whose names started with J and none of them were the kind to send him flowers, especially not now.

“Well?” Gibbs demanded as soon as Tony reappeared.

“Carnations, boss.” Tony waved the flowers as proof.

“Nothing dangerous?”

“Nope. Just strange.”

“You have a new woman in your life, Tony?”

“Nope,” Tony popped the p, certain that he would be getting this question a lot today. 

He couldn’t help trying to figure out who sent him the flowers. Jeanne was still pissed at him. No way she would have. 

He couldn’t see Jethro Gibbs sending them either. Jackson was dead, so he couldn’t have. He had a frat brother John, but why John would send him anything was a mystery to him as well.

With a sigh, Tony tried to focus on the cold case in front of him. It was hard as his mind kept drifting to the damn flowers and the note. Eventually the day came to an end and Tony took his flowers and his wandering mind and headed back to his apartment. 

He flipped on the TV and tried to just relax, but he kept coming back to the flowers. He’d put them in some water and they were now on the coffee table. How were they supposed to remind him of happier times? What was going on?

Tony eventually gave up on the TV, he wasn’t paying any attention to it anyway and went to bed. His mind was still filled with thoughts about who would send him flowers and why. It didn’t make any sense. 

The next morning he woke to dreams of receiving more unexpected gifts. He also knew exactly what to get his Secret Santa and quickly dressed and headed out to the store to retrieve what he would need to finish off the Secret Santa gift. He didn’t have time to do more than grab the items before he was off to work and heading to a crime scene.

“What do we have?” 

“A mistake,” Gibbs snarled.

“What?”

“Apparently, this isn’t an NCIS case, after all, and they incorrectly contacted us,” McGee explained.

“Well we’re already here. We could work it anyway?”

“No.” Gibbs shook his head and then tilted it to indicate who had taken control of the crime scene.

“Really?” Tony couldn’t believe they were just letting the CIA take control of this scene. 

“Apparently, it’s part of an ongoing investigation they’re doing.”

“Right,” Tony drawled. “Back to the office, I guess.”

Everyone clambered back into their cars and returned to the office. “We aren’t seriously just going to let the CIA cover up whatever happened there, are we?” Tony demanded of Gibbs as he walked into the bullpen.

“Yes. It’s not our case.”

“The director is going along with this?” 

“Of course. There’s no reason to spend political capital on it.”

“Right.” Tony frowned as he booted up his computer. He didn’t feel right letting the CIA do whatever they were up to, but if even Gibbs was going with it then he knew he didn’t want to step into whatever political landmine they were dealing with.

Before his computer had even finished booting up, his phone rang. “DiNozzo.” A pause as he listened to security tell him there was a delivery for him. “What is it?”

He frowned. “Ok. I’ll be right there.”

“Case?” Gibbs asked.

“No. Another delivery apparently.”

“Do you think you’re getting more flowers?” McGee questioned.

“No idea, McProbie. That’s what I’m going to find out.”

“Make sure they scan whatever it is thoroughly or take it to Abs.”

Tony waved. “Got it, boss.”

”Any powders?” Tony asked security when they handed him the box.

“Nope. Scan looked good too.”

“Great. Thanks guys.” Tony took the box and returned to the bullpen. He didn’t really want to open the box at work, but he knew McGee would bother him until he did, so he just went ahead and opened it.

“What did you get?” McGee prodded eagerly.

“Looks like a kitchen set.” Tony pulled open the box to confirm that’s really what it was.

“An expensive kitchen set,” Bishop pointed out. “That’s not one of those thirty dollar sets. That’s easily 300 or 400 or more.”

“Is there another note?”

“Yep.” Tony stashed the note away not bothering to read it. That he would absolutely read in private.

“What does it say?” McGee wanted to know.

“None of your business.”

“You snoop in my affairs all the time.”

“It’s still none of your business, Probie.”

“Is it signed J, again?”

Tony shrugged in answer.

Gibbs clapped his hands. “This isn’t highschool. Back to work. All of you.”

“On it, boss.” The team chorused.

When Tony got home that night, he dug out the note and read, “Bet you didn’t expect this, Sex Machine. A mutual friend always enjoyed your cooking and hoped that you wouldn’t lose your love for it.”

It was signed simply J again. The talk of cooking reminded Tony that he was going to make homemade lasagna for his secret santa gift. He needed to make it tonight and get it in the freezer. 

He needed it solidly frozen before he turned it in or it would thaw too fast and would just be a mess. He turned on the radio and sang along with it as he did the prep work for lasagna and slid it into the oven. It would cook for an hour and then he would need to let it cool for another hour before freezing. 

Setting the timer, Tony returned to the note and stared in contemplation at the J. He felt like it was mocking him. Like he should know who was sending him these gifts, but he couldn’t figure it out. 

There were only ten more days until Christmas and he couldn’t help wondering if he would get a gift every day until then. It wasn’t following the song in the traditional sense since there were no turtle doves or partridges in a pear tree, but he didn’t understand why he would have gotten two gifts a day apart otherwise. With visions of what other gifts he might receive swirling in his head, Tony headed for bed after putting the lasagna in the freezer.

He collected a variety of other gifts with similarly confusing notes the next few days. None of them hinted who was sending these or why, aside from the not courting you part in the first note. Tony hoped that the mystery would be revealed when the twelve days were up. Though, he still didn’t know if this was really a twelve days of Christmas thing or not.

Whoever was sending these gifts knew a lot about him. He’d gotten a computer program designed to make songwriting easier, which wasn’t something widely known at NCIS. He’d also gotten a bottle of very expensive wine, one of his favorites, but not one he purchased regularly due to the price. He’d even gotten tickets to the movies, including a movie premiere, with a note about how since he was a habitué of the film industry, J knew they’d be put to good use.

He couldn’t figure out who would know all these things about him. Everytime he thought he knew who might be sending him gifts another one would come and would blow his idea completely out of the water. He’d just gotten a kitten for yesterday’s gift and Tony didn’t even begin to know how anyone knew that he wanted a cat. Rick Blaine still hadn’t returned and Tony was definitely missing the company. 

It was the last day assuming they were only doing twelve gifts and ending on Christmas and Tony was hoping that whoever was sending them would be revealed with this gift. Abby, Tim, and Ellie were all over him about the gifts. He was pretty sure that they considered him their new daytime soap opera. 

Gibbs had given him permission to come in late today. Tony suspected it was because the entire team spent the start of the day distracted by Tony’s gifts and if he hadn’t received one, yet, they spent all their time speculating what he would get this time. It was a very peculiar dynamic and Gibbs was getting more and more annoyed with their lack of focus.

The only reason they hadn’t all received headslaps was because they were still working cold cases. Tony only hoped that the delivery guy was fast and that nothing too exciting came up today. He didn’t really want to work late on Christmas. 

He envied people who never had to work on Christmas. Though, the holiday pay definitely made it worth it sometimes. Tony breathed a sigh of relief when a knock sounded at the door.

Expecting the delivery man, he was surprised to see Abby, Tim, and Ellie there instead. “Do we have a case?”

“Nah. Boss gave us the day off,” Tim announced.

“What?”

“Yeah. Apparently, HR wants us to use some vacation time.” Abby shrugged. “So has it come yet?” 

“Not yet.”

Abby pouted. 

“Are you going to let us in?” Ellie asked.

Tony sighed and opened the door wider so that they could enter. As he went to close the door after them, he saw a delivery guy coming out of the elevator. Tony paused and waited. He signed for the package and headed into his apartment, claiming a seat on the couch. Abby, Tim, and Ellie quickly surrounded him eager to know what he’d gotten this time. 

“So do you know who the sender is, yet?”

“Nope.” Tony shook his head as he opened the box. He gasped as he pulled out the gift. Whoever made this scrapbook had clearly taken a lot of time. It was huge. 

“What is it, Tony?”

Tony opened the scrapbook and was shocked to find a picture of himself and Jackson staring at him. Was this whole book filled with memories of him and Jackson? Tony flipped through a couple more pages and quickly confirmed that the entire scrapbook was about Jackson and him.

“It’s a scrapbook focused on Jackson and me,” Tony knew he sounded stunned. He felt that way too.

“Is there a note?”

Tony blinked and checked. “Why, yes there is.”

“What does it say?”

“I hope you’ve enjoyed these gifts. Jackson wanted you to know that he will always be with you and I hope that’s what you know now. Merry Christmas, Tony.”

“So who sent them?”

“My frat brother, John. Apparently, he was Jackson’s attorney and executor of his will. Jackson had this all set up even though his death was unexpected. I can’t believe it.”

“Wow. I didn’t know you guys were so close.”

“Oh, I can tell you a bunch of stories about that.” Tony grinned as he started in on some of his favorite adventures with Jackson. Jackson may be gone from this world, but he wasn’t gone from Tony’s heart and Tony wouldn’t forget that ever again.

**Author's Note:**

> The dictionary.com series has no stories already written for it after this one, so I will be posting at least no more stories before I stop posting again. I'm hoping to get more stories written before then, so that I don't stop posting for a while. Wish me luck! 
> 
> The 2020 Prompts are open now! Go forth and prompt me! [Click here](https://archiveofourown.org/collections/cutsycat_NCIS_Prompts_2020/profile) to add your prompts to my 2020 Prompt Collection. Just click the sign up link. ;) I'm hoping to complete all the 2020 prompts by the end of 2021. 
> 
> If you are not an ao3 member, you can prompt me [here](http://cutsycat.livejournal.com/50701.html). Please follow the same rules as are listed in the above link. However, because this is a handmade prompt form(that thinks it's a poll), it is considerably more limited than what ao3 provides, so please use the ao3 form if you're an ao3 member. Please note the name option is for a name that I can say this is for so that you know it's for you. Since this is for non ao3 members it won't be true gifts, but you will be mentioned in the notes. Please note if you have already voted in the poll and would like to request more stories you can just add a comment to the poll. Please include the name along with the prompt, so that I can appropriately gift the prompt to you.
> 
> For any authors that want to chat and/or are looking for a place where they can toss plot ideas around and get input from people, you can come join my discord server that is specifically geared towards writing/encouraging people to write and authors. The invite link is [here](https://discord.gg/HFvwpCq). If you're not an author, but want to chat with me about writing/stories or anything else you are welcome to join. I reserve the right to boot you from my server if all you do is pester me about updates, however. *grin* Really anyone who wants to talk about writing and/or plot ideas for various stories is welcome to join. 
> 
> Also, Drakonyashka has translated a couple of my works into Russian. [Tutelage](http://archiveofourown.org/works/12378780) and [Imbue](http://archiveofourown.org/works/12378840). Go support them. 


End file.
